CHAPTER 526: BITING BACK

"Mrs. Cole." Logan immediately recognized her identity—the current chief housekeeper of the Hill Family in City N. Though nearly seventy years old, she had survived the Hill Family’s ruthless battles for power and influence, standing firm in storms that would have broken lesser people.

Though a housekeeper by title, Mrs. Cole held real authority within the Hill Family. Even the wealthy ladies of City N, when meeting her, would never sneer at her position. Instead, they respectfully addressed her as Madam Cole.

Madam Cole gave a slight nod. Age had sharpened her insight, and she could tell Logan was no ordinary man.

"Mr. Reid, I come on behalf of the family head and the old matriarch. The master truly could not get away, and the old lady only woke from her coma a few months ago. Her health is fragile—she must not travel."

Logan tapped his fingertips lightly against the table. "Is there something you need my help with?"

"Not exactly. I came to see our young lady’s daughter."

Madam Cole was direct—she knew one had to speak plainly with clever men.

"Mr. Reid, I believe you’ve already guessed."

Logan’s lips curved slightly. "By young lady, you mean Lady Victoria."

Madam Cole nodded.

"Yes. The old matriarch is Helen Adams, who married Charles, the Hill Family’s eldest son, her childhood sweetheart. They were deeply devoted to each other."

"They had a son and a daughter—the rightful heir and heiress of the Hill Family."

Her voice darkened with bitterness. "But Charles had a younger brother, Matt. Thirty years ago, he engineered a car accident that shattered everything. The master died. The old lady fell into a vegetative state. And the young master and young lady were driven out of the Hill Family by Matt."

Logan had already uncovered this history, but he listened quietly.

Madam Cole continued, "Twenty-five years ago, perhaps because public pressure grew too great, Matt brought the young lady back into the Hill Family. But what awaited her was not family warmth, but—"

Logan understood. He spoke softly, "Lady Victoria was brought back only to serve as Hannah’s foil."

Madam Cole suppressed her anger. "Exactly. Matt deliberately made her a stepping stone for Hannah. The humiliation and suffering she endured... let us put that aside for now. Eventually, she escaped the Hill Family, terrified of being found. She changed her surname and settled in City A."

"She did not abandon her daughter willingly. Nor did she wish to leave the child behind. She simply had no choice."

Madam Cole’s eyes brimmed with tears. "Mr. Reid, that is why I came to you first, rather than directly to the young lady. I need a favor."

"I do not know whether she can forgive her grandmother and uncle. After so many years apart, perhaps she has grown indifferent to family. And since the old lady could not come in person, she may feel her family never truly cared for her."

"Mr. Reid... I ask only that you explain the situation to her. Whether she accepts or forgives us or not, in time the old lady and the young master will personally come to City A to bring her home."

Logan did not presume to forgive on Selina’s behalf, though he knew she had never truly blamed them.

He simply said, "To Selina, her mother was always precious. She never once blamed Lady Victoria for leaving her."

Madam Cole’s tears shimmered. Though only a housekeeper by name, she had grown up alongside Helen, watched her marry, have children, then waste away into a coma. Now, at last, there was hope again. That was enough.

Logan rose to his feet. "Before that, however, there is one more matter. If Madam Cole is willing to help, all the better."

"Please, Mr. Reid," she replied.

Logan’s tone cooled. "Joe has been clinging to Selina like a leech. Surely Madam Cole has a way to make him disappear, far and fast—yes?"

Madam Cole’s face twisted with disgust. She nodded firmly. "Of course."

...

At the press conference.

Selina’s DNA report hit the floor like a boulder smashing into water—sending shockwaves everywhere.

With so many reporters present, there was no way to contain it. Within minutes, the news spread across City A:

The Morris Family had stolen the inheritance of a widow and her child. An impostor had undergone surgery to masquerade as Selina. Joe was shameless...

The scandal spread like wildfire.

Grandma Morris’s face flushed red, then pale, then red again. She had never suffered such humiliation. Desperate, breathless, she scrambled to find a way to refute it.

Then, suddenly, inspiration struck.

Even if Angela had gone under the knife—so what? Even if Joe had treated Selina poorly—so what? She still had a weapon to use.

"Selina, I knew from the start you weren’t Joe’s daughter! Why do you think I always despised you?!"

Her roar silenced the room.

"Because you’re nothing but the product of an affair! Your mother slept around with some nameless man and gave birth to you. Joe was kind enough not to hold it against you—he wanted to treat you as his own daughter. But me? I won’t!"

"You wanted to know why Joe never married your mother? Because she was unfaithful! Is that the answer you wanted? Joe protected her reputation all these years, but I’ve had enough!"

The outburst froze the entire venue. Everyone stared, stunned. Just when they thought the drama had reached its peak, Grandma Morris dropped a bombshell—Victoria had cheated?

So that was why Joe never married her? So that was why the Morris Family treated Selina this way?

When put like that... it almost made sense.

After all, who would marry a woman who cheated? Joe hadn’t broken things off and had even raised her daughter. Wasn’t that more than generous?

Some were skeptical, but plenty of men in the crowd accepted Grandma Morris’s version immediately.

Joe’s face turned red, then pale, his expression twisted with conflict. He stared blankly at his mother, as though he hadn’t expected her to go this far. Words caught in his throat.

"Joe, say something!" Grandma Morris pressed.

Joe’s lips trembled. "Mom, I..."

Did Victoria cheat? No.

No one knew better than Joe how their so-called "love" had begun. So when he discovered Selina wasn’t his child, his first thought was: She must be the daughter of the man Victoria truly loved.

And he couldn’t stand it.

But never—not once—had he thought of slapping Victoria with the stain of adultery.

Yet if he didn’t go along with this story, what then? He would be ripped apart by the public.

Torn between shame and fear, Joe faltered. Around him, voices of suspicion and scorn swirled, grinding his pride into dust. A poisonous thought surged up inside him.

Victoria had never accepted him. He loved her so much, and she still wouldn’t accept him!

Fine. If she wouldn’t give him face, then she couldn’t blame him for being cruel.

Gritting his teeth, Joe didn’t dare meet Selina’s eyes.

"Yes... yes, Victoria cheated. That’s why I kept it quiet all these years... I knew Selina wasn’t my daughter."